Electric fences are barriers used both for security and animal control. Specifically, electric fences use electric shocks to deter animals and/or people from crossing a boundary. Conventional electric fence configurations require a path to a source of an electric current and ground or earth. A power energizer converts power into a brief high voltage pulse. One terminal of the power energizer releases an electrical pulse along a bare wire. Another terminal is connected to a metal rod implanted in the earth, called a ground or earth rod. An animal touching the wire and the earth simultaneously will complete an electrical circuit thus, conducting the electrical pulse, and thereby receiving an electrical shock. The connected bare wire is usually a smooth high tensile steel wire, which prevents the fence from sagging. This, however, can increase the risk of entanglement or possible escape.
In addition, the electric fence must be kept insulated from the earth and any materials that will conduct electricity, burn, or short out the fence. Further, the electric fence (i.e., bare wire) cannot be attached directly to the posts. Thus, insulated connectors are required to attach the bare wire to the fence posts to thereby insulate the bare wire from the fence posts. The insulated connectors need to provide a secure connection to support the bare wire and prevent the bare wire from sliding along the fence post. In order to accomplish this, some conventional connectors require special tools to install or replace the insulated connectors.
Other types of insulators are simply tube insulators that are slid along the bare wire to the proper location along the fence to insulate the wire from intermediate posts. All of the tube insulators necessary for the line must be slid along the bare wire prior to installing the bare wire. Thus, the number of insulating tubes must match the number of intermediate posts. The installer typically loads up the bare wire by installing many insulators at one end and sliding them down the entire length of the bare wire until each insulator reaches its respective post. Further, once the electric fence is complete, the bare wire must be removed in order to replace any one of the insulating tubes.